Demonstrations cost Mozambican businesses 47 million dollars

DEMONSTRATIONS COST MOZAMBICAN BUSINESSES 47 MILLION DOLLARS

Maputo, 31 Oct (AIM) – Mozambique’s Confederation of Business Associations (CTA) on Wednesday claimed that the three days of strikes and demonstrations last week had cost the country’s businesses losses of three billion meticais (about 47 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate).

The independent presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane, had called the demonstrations to protest against, among other issues, election fraud and the murders of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, and Paulo Guambe, an election agent for the Podemos Party which had supported his presidential bid.

Mondlane, who has gone into hiding, probably in South Africa, has now called for a week of demonstrations, culminating in a “march on Maputo” to reach the capital on 7 November.

CTA chairperson Agostinho Vuma gave reporters the estimate for losses shortly after a CTA delegation had met with the government.

Vuma put on a brave face, saying that the business sector and the government had reached a consensus that companies, including productive units, shops and other commercial establishments, will remain open, despite Mondlane’s strike threats.

This defiance was immediately sabotaged by the banks. At least three of the main commercial banks announced that their branches will not open on Thursday.

The banks can afford this, since nowadays much banking business does not involve visiting bank branches. But it is a very different matter for the retail sector, where the absence of clients for several days can be a disaster.

“We met with members of the government to assess the situation”, said Vuma. “We maintain our readiness to leave the productive units open, with the security that the government has guaranteed”.

He said that the demonstrations of last Thursday and Friday had caused transactions in the exchange market to fall by over 75 per cent, from an average of 60 million dollars a day to 14 million.

Vuma said that, despite Mondlane telling his supporters not to attack private businesses, 33 establishments were affected.

“We faced sabotage, destruction, break-ins at private shops and even productive units”, he said. “The level of destruction of establishments is such that they will not be able to start operating again, and we estimate that between 1,200 and 1,300 workers have indirectly become unemployed”.

Vuma urged the government to guarantee security for productive units. Otherwise they will be in danger of looting which could bring the entire economy down.

He noted that the demonstrators had obstructed the highway between Maputo and South Africa, which forced the government to close the Ressano Garcia border post, affecting the entry into Mozambique of trucks carrying goods to the port of Maputo.

(AIM)

Pf/ (436)